I forgot to say that I think that kid is going to grow up to be something wonderful. He’s got such a gentle touch with that cat already. He watches and listens to the cat’s reactions unlike many kids that age, who are just using pets as toys. These two are really playing together.
I melted to a puddle of goo.

Refresh my mind, people… what was that commercial with the cute little tow-headed boy rolling around the lawn with the Golden puppies? This made me think of that. And, if the date is correct on the vid, this kid’s about 9 now… hope he gets to see how much he’s making people smile!

what, no “oh em gee human bebehs!”?
personally, I think even the still at the beginning of the video is aderrable (I can’t watch the tubes at work) – can’t even imagine how prosh the giggling is.
There’s nothing like the laughter of a baby!

I just saw this on Urlesque and someone there posted a comment that has had me scratching my head all morning. Maybe someone here can figure it out: What’s with the the set of legs wearing pants and shoes leaning against the wall in the background?

Yes the kid is giggling. I am still amazed what parents let happen. That could have easily turned bad. It may be cute at first, but this is a disgusting display of how a child could possibly get clawed in the eye or worse.

Chill, Hannah — I bet the parents of that child and kitty know their personalities better than any of us. The child was treating the cat gently, the cat wasn’t showing any signs of irritation or aggression, and at least one parent was supervising carefully.

Yes the kid is giggling. I am still amazed what parents let happen. That could have easily turned bad. It may be cute at first, but this is a disgusting display of how a cat could possibly get baby slobber in the eye or worse.

There’s always one person that has to ruin it for the rest with their “what if’s” and “not cute’s”… Sheesh people.. take the video for what it is and not what it could be.. a baby and a kitten playing around… and then take a chill pill..

Uh oh, commentroversy ahead!!! Warning, Will Robinson!:) @ crackjob…I have seen these at tourist places in central PA. Not sure what they are called, except maybe “creepy”. I have also seen wooden ones that go in your yard..they are the backside of people bending over, painted on wood. Whay have I seen these? Because I have no life.

My cats are not nearly this nice to one another when they play. The baby seems very happy and not scared at all, and cat seems to want game to continue also (I’m basing my judgment on my observation of my own fellas). In conclusion, I pronounce the video supercute.

Note to Nuffers: Moms have a sixth sense about these things…I doubt she would be laughing and taping this smackdown if there were any chance Jr. or kitteh would be harmed. This is probably not the first time they’ve gently scuffled – I think these things just evolve and we should chill out and let the good love flow…

@Saffron: I totally forgot about those bending-over-butt-garden things!

Cats behaviour seems to change when they know its a child. I’ve seen them have
their tails pulled or be picked up under their stomach and they tolerate it, or just
wriggle free, but no claws bites or hisses.
On the other hand if an adult is trying to put on a flea collar….SLASH!

@Hon Glad, I recently read a piece in a SI-en-ti-fik Journal about how animules are better at play than Hoomins. Dogs and cats both tone it down and restrain themselves for play, even when it looks like they are going at it flat out. They also continuously send behavioral signals to each other that it is play, and not real aggression. I’ll try to find a link, really interesting.

Theresa, when my Edward and Francesco play/fight/make out, what happens is that Franny is being flirtatious and wanting to have fun, but Eddy gets serious and makes horrible noises while seemingly trying to kill Franny. I think he truly forgets that they are “playing”. Maybe I’m wrong, but then again I’ve known for a long time that Eddy is a deeply disturbed guy.

@Skippymom. in my experience, the one who makes the most noise is not the aggressor, but the one that is more scared. I don’t know about your guys, of course, but when Dante and Stinky, or Stinky and Mimi got noisy, it was usually the one being “attacked” who yelled the loudest, I think, sort of combining “I will scare you off with scary loud noise” and “MOOOOOMMMMM!!”

hey skippymom! our cat Gus was kind of… psycho, to put it kindly. When Moonpie came along, weighing 2.5 lbs, she basically took over the household (still rules the roost). Anyway, when she was trying to play with Gus, he would hiss and spit and generally not cooperate. After Gus was gone and she was older, when playing with a toy and feeling particularly fired up, she would hiss. More disturbingly, when she jumped up on my chest to snuggle with me on the couch, she would let out a huge hiss before she settled down and started purring loudly. She’s a rather large animal, so when she jumped up on you, then let out a huge hiss while staring at the opposite wall – well, it got your attention. o_O My husband and I decided she ‘learned’ from Gus to associate hissing with happy/excited.

We have four cats and a three year old kid. Two of our cats want nothing to do with a noisy toddler and so stay they stay far away from him. One kitty is cautiously interested, so she tends to perch on the back of the sofa just out of reach, where she can watch toddler but he can’t grab her. And we have one kitty who lurves our son and puts up with all kinds of grabbing, tugging and petting. Not once has kitty scratched or bitten our son even though he isn’t declawed (none of our cats are). When our son gets to be too much for him, kitty just leaves the room. We have worked with our son to teach him to pet softly (“nice-nice”) and have broken him of attempts to grab/tug on tails. It’s all been pretty harmonious and I’m glad to see the kitty here so obviously enjoying a fun game with the little sprog. Cats and littles can coexist, they really can.

The behavior you’re seeing is typical of playful “dominance”. The child standing up and waving his arms is the human equivalent of the cat going for the neck and back. It’s not about sex, it’s about who’s the top dog…er …cat.

Gawd, that was so sweet!! Kitty! The giggles!! LOL when the cat stands on his back legs he’s as big as deh bebeh! And the baby just hugs the kitty. Dawww. Did you catch where he almost said “kitty”? How cute!!

It’s sad when you click the comments link with a mixture of trepidation (oh no, what are the nuffers gonna say about this one?) and cynicism (oh yeah, the nuffers will be all over this one, stupid nuffers….)

That said, I liked the video. Sure made me miss my tuxedo boy, who passed away in January. He and I were together for 16 years….

Awww! I just got some bad news and this really helped snap me out of it. :)

My Sly and Alley (live with mom now) have been sweet with my little boy since I brought him home from the hospital. They tried to sleep in his bed with him, especially Alley, but she got the message that wasn’t allowed and they both slept under his bed. So did my mutt Nisha, who played guard.

We’ve taught our little one from day one to be nice to animals. He doesn’t even want to step on ants like some boys his age, and pets ladybugs instead of squashing or eating them. He’s very gentle, and when we moved where we couldn’t have animals, he missed those guys! They missed him to. We visit at mom’s at least once a week, and one of the first things is he gets mobbed by kitties – Alley, Sly, the 15 year old Tigger, the lovebugs Honeybear and Sassy, and so on. Indoor cats, outdoor cats, they all love him. Even the old poodle is getting over her fear of children and playing with him. We have one cat there, Poppy, who actually will kick a ball to my son and wait for him to roll it back! She even plays peek a boo. And of course, we have to go out to see the Nisha and rest of the doggies who like to stay in the yard during the day.

Animals are great with kids usually, as long as there’s supervision and the child is taught not to hurt the animals. It amazes me how the cats never forget to sheathe their claws and the dogs never nip.

the kitty KNOWS to be gentle with the baby. animals can tell that a new baby in the house is the boss, who rules even the food-givers. believe me, the baby would not be giggling if any part of the claws were digging into his skin.

The behavioral psychology discussions are reminding me of Cesar Milan, when he works with a family setting where there is or will soon be a human baby. The human baby is the “Alpha” member of the Pack ….

The mom must have known that this cat was playing gentle- and I love how she let her boy know everything was fine with her prodding laughter. What could have been scary for him turned into a fun game. And that kid will be more confident as a result! Good mom!

Good Lord, Paunchie, you remember my Little Eddy song well enough to quote it? Wow. I guess I’m flattered.

I don’t know, you guys. Franny lies on his back and kind of writhes in a come-hither way, whereupon Eddy goes in for the attack, usually doing his darnedest to make mouth contact with Franny’s neck and/or “private area”. He makes noises that actually do sound like he’s scared as he becomes more and more aggressive, while Franny keeps quiet and doesn’t resist but looks more and more confused, like “wait? thought we were playing, here?” and finally wriggles free and leaves the scene, while Eddy sits there looking pi**ed off. Maybe Eddy is frightened by his own uncontrollable violent urges.

I’ve been reading the comments (can’t watch the video at the office) and was surprised that there is not to many nuffers. THEN I got to rebekah comment…and bursted out laughing out loud, not a good thing in a silent office!

Both human and kitteh had ample opportunity to escape at all turns, which would be the first reaction before slashing or biting. Utterly adorable! And both seemed to be loving the play. Kitteh was playing with baby just like baby was another kit.

This is so adorable. Animals definitely know how to modulate their playing to their playee… Love this baby’s laugh! It would be awesome to have the mom know that this video is up!! Quite a trip down memory lane, since it’s 9 years ago!

Freaking ADORABLE! It reminds me of when I played with my kitten when I was this child’s age. For the people who have rods up their butts, as a person who grew up with a kitten at that age, kids can take a surprising amount. I had lots of fun. Sure I got scratched occasionally, but that was the best way to learn a lesson about not bothering the kitty too much. And from this video, that isn’t even going on anyway.

I’ve watched this about 5 times now. I sent it to a friend with a bebe the same age as the one in the video, and Sara, the bebe, insisted on watching it again and again – she would start fussing every time it stopped.

When my tux kitty and now 17 year old son were both in their toddler years, this kind of smackdown happened all the time. Notice the rabbit-kicks at the beginning of the video… if kitty was serious, tears would have ensued instead of giggles. They are just littermates playing together. Later, one will be a pillow for the other when they’re tuckered out and ready for naptime.

The glasses are in the cat-alternate dimension, which is where all the 'lost' cat toys go, and also where the cats go when you are looking everywhere for them and you turn around and they are standing right where you just looked a nanosecond ago.

Anyway, my one cent (normally two, but the economy, you know :D) is that kitteh is rubbing against ADORABLE bebeh. If the cat bit, the A-bebeh would have let out a yell. Instead we get the most wonderful peals of giggles and laughter. A+++ video!

Good comments. Very little commentroversy. When I lose my glasses they are usually on the floor where the cat knocked them off the table. When I lose the cat, I eventually look up and he’s sitting on top of the bookcase looking down at me – “what”?

As far as kitteh and baby, what could I say that hasn’t been said. It’s Joy.

Side note: when my cat tries to play with the bunny, he is very careful and does not use his claws. Somehow he knows the bunny is more fragile.

That’s so cool! They look like they’re really having a blast! At one point when the kitty grabs the baby around the waist, it really looks like a wrestling move. I also love in the beginning when the baby is down and makes this laughing kind of sound like, “oh wow, you got me, buddy!”

As for the lost glasses, I don’t wear them so I don’t have that particular problem but I don’t know where in the world my socks go.

The video actually scared me–I caught myself leaning forward to grab the baby! In my experience, cats can flip from “Wheee!” to “Overstimulated now, back off, BITEY BITEY CLAW KICK” in a picosecond, and toddlers are too little to read the signals.

But there was at least one adult right there and it all ended happily. Obviously this cat and this baby are simpatico.

I saw the 101 comments and immediately thought the comments were closed, but here we are! I look forward to having a baby one day, specifically so that s/he will have wonderful memories of bonding with my dog.

Love this video! Some kids would be freaking out over that. When my godchild met my Granpappy McGee, he kept standing up to sniff her hair (he likes to sniff things, and her hair does smell heavenly). She cried, and he was only touching her with his nose! She actually loves cats, but I think his size scared her. Oh well, both the kid and cat are awesome:)

I must admit, my heart really was in my throat for both parties at the beginning of this video, even if I know CO wouldn’t steer me wrong. But both kitty and baby showed themselves to be extra gentle while still being playful! Even when the baby stood up, he put his arms out as if to hit the cat but it was just a playful tap. They must have a great mom.

Aww!
Reminds me of when I was a baby… well, naturally I don’t remember this, but when I was 1 year old, my parents got our first kitten after kitten-sitting and falling in love with a beautiful fluffy calico. She would scratch up everything in sight and bat at everyone’s ankles, but if I stepped on her tail she would simply be startled and walk away. Never laid a single claw or tooth on me (at least not when I was little). We had her for 15 years, and time proved to me, as I got older, that she wasn’t always nice… but back then, she knew I was the baby and knew that I was not to be harmed.

So yeah, I’m pretty sure cats can tell when something is a fragile baby, just as we can. :)

If you look about 25 seconds in, right after the cat ‘stands up’ and puts its front paws on the baby’s shoulders, it licks the baby’s head in a really cute, affectionate and motherly way.
This isn’t wrestling, it’s “LOOK at the state of your hair! Don’t think you’re going out like that! Now hold still and let Mommy wash you. HOLD STILL I SAID!!!”

I’m not a baby person, and even *I* thought that was ridiculously adorable! The kitten didn’t look even a tiny bit annoyed, and most cats I know are pretty good at telegraphing irritation! I bet those two turned out to be BFFs.

I think most animals know to be gentle with babies. When my brother was born, my parents had know idea of his severe disability (he was brain damaged at birth, doctors knew and never told my parents). My parents had Harold, a boxer who also happened to have epilepsy. Not only did Harold play differently with my brother than he did with other children, he KNEW right before my brother had his first grand mal seizure. My mom saw him get down and crawl on his belly towards my brother and start licking him. It was this behavior that alerted her to the impending seizure.

She has wonderful stories of him, unfortunately he died before I got to meet him :-(

For all those hoping/thinking this cat is declawed: our Spike loves to wrestle, and whenever he’s playing with a human limb, he keeps his claws sheathed. We never get scratched, and he’s a 16-lb tom who plays ROUGH (totally encouraged by my husband!) He’s just one of many cats I’ve met who know not to use their claws during people-play.

Now that that’s out of the way, this was so stinking cute. i have a huge smile on my face. So sweet!!

this vid made my DAY, and purrhaps possibly my whole WEEK. I even had to show it to my co-worker and we both agree, kitty has claws and knows how to scheethe (or however you spell it) because NO MOMMY who was that good would ever do anything that horrible to a kitteh.
baby. kitteh.

My kitty was like yours. Gremlin loved to play but he always pulled his claws when he played with the humans. On the other hand, if he played with his brother Gizmo (aka The Cat Wit’ No Brain) it was claws OUT! They played rough with each other but slept on each other after it was all over.

I’m sure the parents in this video know their cat well enough to know if it was safe to play with the baby and it made for an adorable video! Thanks CO!

@ MymaJane – My mom just lost her seizure dog about 2 weeks ago to brain cancer. We’ve had her for about 8 years (Golden Retriever we rescued who was already around 6 at the time we found her, wandering the freeway after her owners were killed in an accident. Her buddy, the Irish Setter, was rescued by a vet tech). Anyway, Mandy knew whenever mom was going to have a seizure. There was a certain kind of bark she did as an alert, and she even would climb into my mom’s bed and attempt to keep her from falling off the bed. I’ve even seen her push mom so that she would fall onto the couch or a bed or at least a rug rather than the hard floor. She was amazing.

:*( we miss that dog. But now that she’s gone, one of her best buddies, our brain-damaged kitteh rescue Sassy, is playing seizure cat. It’s almost like Mandy taught her what to look for before she went to the Rainbow Bridge.

I laughed out loud at this video, and Philo kitteh promptly ran up the stairs and leapt up onto my desk and headbutted me, as if to say, “You want Cute? I’ll show you Cute!” He’s now sitting in front of me, purring and rubbing his head under my chin.

I agree that this is very cute and sweet mutual play. This little boy will (or will have) learn to respect animals and play nicely with them, which is a skill far too many children lack. The kitteh obviously loves his baby buddy. If cats don’t wanna play, cats don’t play. And like others have mentioned, some cats will pull in their claws when playing with humans. Philo is a good example of that, and he was hand-raised from the age of two weeks, so who can say where he learned that skill?

On another note, please spare some good vibes and prayers for my Gabby, who is 15 1/2 years old and all of a sudden sickly. She had a poopy accident yesterday and sat around in it for a couple of hours before I found her, and she is usually the most vigilant of groomers. She isn’t eating solids today, though I got some weak chicken broth and water down her. She’s got a vet appointment first thing in the morning.

Just FYI: For cat claws, the default position is *in* (or sheathed); the cat has to deliberately “unsheathe” them to use them. So in this video, the cat isn’t “holding his claws in”, they’re in naturally because he’s not being aggressive, just playing around.

Most people who have or have had cats can tell very easily when the household cat is reaching its limit – notice the mom admonishes the kitty once or twice when she saw the cat might be getting overexcited, and kitty backed down immediately. A family cat will not suddenly become a slashing machine for no reason, but you do have to know the cat well enough to recognize when he’s starting to feel “stabby”. :-)

Awww, remind me of Klaxon, my very own feline baby sitter. My father still have picture of him peering over my bed,making sure I’m okay. He didn’t sleep with me while I was a toddler (Mom was firm about that), but I think I make him suffer every indignity a child can inflict on a cat without hurting him… Dressing him, bitting him, sleeping on him, I also stole in his plate (and gave him my green beans, he loved that) and he never scratch or bite me. But yeah, as soon as I was old enough, they taught me how to understand his mood and to pet him kindly.

I’ve watched that thing three times now, and it’s a delight each time. I am so glad those
parents know how to foster that child’s love of animals…and what a cool kitteh!
All that batting and no scratching. Awesome.

Forgot to relate the anecdote about my 5-y.o. niece Jasmine. My mom was keeping Jasmine and her brother, and Jasmine’s cat “Sugars” jumped up on the couch beside my mom. Mom started petting Sugars and Sugars was happy and purring. Then Jasmine started petting Sugars, and after a few moments Sugars started swishing her tail back and forth. Mom admonished Jasmine to pet Sugars a bit more gently, because the tail action meant Sugars didn’t like it.

Jasmine drew herself up and told Mom very seriously that she had read in a book that when a cat “wags its tail,” that means it likes what you’re doing. My mom said, “It wasn’t a minute” before Sugars pulled back her paw and swiped at Jasmine. She wasn’t seriously hurt, but Mom did put Sugars out and then took Jasmine to the bathroom to clean the scratch, and Mom said, “Now tell me again what the wagging tail means?” :)

@Rosewolf, yours is the second cat I have heard of that is a seizure alert animal. The other one also learned it from a dog, actually. I’ve heard that cats are better then dogs at learning through copying other animals (hence the term ‘copycat’), so I suppose it is no surprise.

I’m sorry for your loss. It sounds like Mandy left your Mom in good paws.